Can You Guess the World's Largest Gold Jewelry Market? (Hint: It Isn't The United States)

The consensus stateside may be that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but that's not the case in the world's largest gold market -- China.  The World Gold Council reported world jewelry demand was up slightly in Q1 2017, driven largely by India, where gold jewelry demand increased 16% year over year to 92.3 metric tons. Nonetheless, it's China that remains the largest market. In the first quarter of 2017, China's gold jewelry demand was 176.5 metric tons, while global demand for the same period was 480.9 metric tons. How does the United States rank? Despite the U.S. reporting its strongest first quarter since 2010, its demand -- 22.9 metric tons -- pales in comparison.

But that's just one quarter. Perhaps there's seasonal variation in the different markets? According to the World Gold Council, in fiscal 2016, China's jewelry demand was 629 metric tons. India and the U.S., meanwhile, had demand of 514 metric tons and 118.3 metric tons for the full year, respectively.

Although this may come as a surprise to some of us, one company familiar with China's love of gold -- among other precious metals -- is Tiffany (NYSE: TIF). In fiscal 2016, Tiffany reported that its Asia-Pacific segment accounted for 25% of the company's net sales, and of that, China accounted for more than half. 

Continue reading

Source: Fool.com